Jedi Ranking Within the Grand Army of the Republic

Jedi, being extensively trained, nearly always out rank clones. The average padawan holds the rank of Lieutenant, only being outranked on the field by Captain level clones and higher ranked Jedi. Knights are commonly considered Commanders of their respective forces, with prominent knights being granted High Commander status, one step below General. Generals lead armies of the Grand Army and are Masters of great tactical renown. These rankings are important for various reasons, but the most important is to ensure the clones understand their place within the command structure.

As dictated from the Jedi Archive files on the Senate Military Committee Meeting.


Naruto yawned as he stretched. He had just awoken from a very important nap; his first true sleep in the last three days. While Jedi and Shinobi both were trained to operate on little to no sleep for periods of days to weeks, meditation ,or what the shinobi called inemuri, was not a comfortable replacement for sleeping. Inemuri was arguably the best, with the brain still being partially active even as the body rested. Similar to how some galactic soldiers were trained to doze on duty, inemuri allowed a shinobi to operate in hostile environments where a sleeping state would be made more permanent.

He exited his quarters with a smile, passing several clones who idly saluted. This last mission was a major departure for their standard operating procedures; primarily spaced based combat, his clones were given a trial by fire. While all clones were fair pilots, capable of flying the standard array of ships just like their Predecessor, some were simply better than others. Naruto firmly believed that even clones were slightly different from each other; siblings in every stretch of the word.

Shaking away his musing on his troops, Naruto entered the bridge, pausing briefly as his troops barked,"Command on Bridge," and each clone saluted him with a smile before getting back to work. He continued forward towards the only two clones that did not salute him, one being the Captain of his troops, Taps and the other wearing gold strips and a heavy rifle strapped to his back. Naruto's eyes flicked towards him before looking at Taps who shrugged.

"Is there something you needed Commander Shep?" Naruto asked politely as he folded his arms upon reaching them. Shep was the commander for Master Pong Krell's clones, out ranking all clones on this ship, only being junior to Naruto himself, with Naruto being considered a High Commander. A serious, no-nonsense military mind, Shep demanded that all clones in his presence acted as their rank demanded. He seemed to also have a slight dislike towards the Jedi command structure, having told Plo Koon as much before.

"Yes Commander Uzumaki. I was discussing with your Captain, that the medic on your ship was not up to standard. He parades out of uniform which is, overlookable, however he doesn't even follow regulation in regards to the health of the troopers! It means I have to take him for retraining with my company." Shep growled as he shoved a data pad into Naruto's chest.

Reading the notes on the pad, Uzumaki sighed as Shep continued to rant. "Commander, with all due respect, stop talking." Shep's mouth closed with a click as Naruto continued to read.

"I see your point. Doc is notorious for waiting until the last minute to administer dosage. Its one of his… quirks." The jedi smirked. Doc was one of his finest accomplishments as a commander if he did say so himself.

Doc was a Mandalorian who had agreed to work with a Jedi. That in itself was nearly unheard of in the Galaxy at large, but to have him work with the Republic was a boon in itself.

"Doc was found in the first combat my company ever engaged in; with the death of Medic Needles, he offered his services…" As Naruto related the story, several of his oldest clone comrades added details.

The planet was a hellscape, with red silica-based sand that got into every nook and cranny that was open to air, irritating flesh regardless of the body suit that everyone wore. The city they were clearing was one of towers, centered on hills with bridges of wire and steel crossing crevices deep enough that lights tossed down were lost. When they first landed, blaster fire was lighting up the area in the center of the city, which the clones were swiftly moving towards; clearing every building as they moved forward in a rolling wave.

They found nothing but bodies and droid scrap in each building. The bodies were riddled with blaster bolt wounds, while the droids were systematically eliminated with precise blaster bolts. The doors were all forced open, with a single blaster bolt to the opening mechanism.

As they moved forward, the sounds of combat featuring droids were growing louder. Blaster bolts, yelling of "Rodger Rodger", and the sound of metal breaking as if it were crushed. Naruto and his team started to rush forward, ignoring the spaces that were blasted open, assuming it was the same as before.

It was a mistake that only newbies to war and combat would perform, and it cost them. As they entered the city's center, they were met with a sight that the squad would never forget. A whole army of droids were standing there, mostly deactivated, with a group of armored Mandalorian warriors in a circle around a wounded warrior. Their weapons, pointed not at the droids, but at the Republic troops that had just entered. A soft clicking sound notified them of the presence of six more Mando warriors that flanked their backs, coming from the rooms they didn't check in their haste to go to battle.

"You all must be fresh outta basic if you just charged up in here with no plan and barely any cohesion." The Mando in front of them growled as he kept his hand cannon pointed firmly at Naruto's torso. Naruto glanced around, noticing for the first time several of the droids on the ground, hundreds of corpses of the local species piled in the corners, and the remnants of what he assumed was an EMP grenade that one of the Mandos thew to gain this respite. A swift glance behind the circle of men showed a Mandalorian being worked on slowly by a large dark skinned human who was swearing in six languages. The wounded warrior had a hole in his armor, an impressive feat if Naruto remembered correctly, that was steadily pumping blood that should probably stay inside the body.

"We don't want any trouble from you Mandalorians." Naruto spoke slowly as he raised his arms above his head. His troopers raised their rifles, pointing towards the warriors. The mando who spoke chuckled darkly, his hand cannon still on target with Naruto's heart.

"We don't wanna give ya any trouble Jedi. We are gonna patch up the Sarge 'n get gone. We got survivors to save." The head Mando spoke slowly as the droids started to spark and whirl.

"Shit Shit shit. Boys, Open fire on the damn scrappies!"Taps yelled as he proceeded to heed his own orders. Naruto kept his eyes on the Mandolorians as the droids started to come back to life. In moments the city square had turned into a massive battle between troopers and droids, with few of the Mandalorian warriors being targeted at all.

Naruto could hear the warrior on the ground shouting orders towards his circle of warrior protection. Some of them to this day made him grin, as they were yelled to "Aim for the droids, not the air dumbass." And "Ammo aint cheap! You keep wasting it like it is!" It between each of the Sarge's orders, the man mending him would yell at him, saying things such as "This hole here says you should shut your mouth!" and "If you don't quit movin' im gonna make it so ya can't!"

Naruto couldn't help himself. He started to smile as the blaster bolts kept sailing, as death passed him by with each near miss, and he delt it with each swipe. His body sang with every movement, every droid he dispatched with a swipe, force push or in a few cases blasts of high pressure water needles from his mouth. His troopers were surviving, as he cut a clear path around them and the Mando Warriors, his heart beat singing in his ears, and his body a blur of death and destruction.

Naruto's story got interrupted at that moment by a deep drawl "Pops looked at ya at that moment Jedi. Saw ya through the legs of Jakarl, slicing through the droids. I never saw him happy to see a Jedi alive until that moment; watching as you protected us." Doc walked up to the commanding platform, his soot colored skin hidden in beskar armor, with only two markings on it. The one on his left breast was his clan symbol, a scythe over a trio of dots. The right breast was his Company sigil, The two black clouds, standing out faintly from the dark gray of the armor. His face was young, matching his mere 20 years, yet his eyes were fearsome in a storm gray. His hair, barely a half inch long, was bleach white, contrasting his dark skin in a striking way. He stood towering over the clones and Naruto himself with a height of 6 foot 9 inches, with muscles to match his height. He walked silently, his footsteps softened with years of experience. On his hip, a single blade the length of Naruto's forearm rested, while on his back the empty holster for his personally modified Z-6 rotary Blaster sat. Naruto remembered telling him that he would be leaving that in his quarters while on the bridge, to ease the minds of his flight crew. Doc had responded with a snort and a fine boss.

Naruto nodded to Doc before continuing his story to Shep, who stood enraptured as several clones continued, talking about how they were knee deep in clankers and the tides kept coming.

What they didn't know, and wouldn't find out until later, was that the planet they were on had an entire section of the fiftieth droid army, over a half-million droids on that planet. There were only 300 troopers, 10 Mandalorian warriors and a jedi bringing the fight to the Confederates, in something that would be considered suicide by anyone who wasn't Impact Company.

Naruto had destroyed easily 200 droids in the center, before he heard the Sarge yell a brilliant idea at him.

"Narrow their field idiots!"

He reacted to that in an instant as he pushed with the Force, slamming droids into each other, and against the various street openings of the city's center. Absent mindedly whirling his lightsaber to deflect several bolts away from the man tending the Sarge, Naruto bellowed orders to his troopers.

"Formation Y, Taps get some damn fire power hooked up! I don't feel like doing this all day!" His voice easily spurred obedience in the clones, as they shifted into a formation that supported the mando warriors, as Taps ordered his gunnies to set up some heavier weapons. Sentry guns were quickly placed as Naruto continued to move through the city center, throwing the droid wreckage around to ensure protection from at least some of the entry points.

As they had formed up, the tides slowed slightly, with the turret guns able to handle the small flow. "We can't stay here." Naruto muttered as one of his clones was shot in the throat by a lucky droid, or an unlucky droid if you considered the fact that it was swiftly vaporized by blaster fire. He mentally swore as he realized the clone was their company medic, Needles. Needles had been tasked to join them only due to his experience, and he was down, possibly dead.

"We need to fall back boss! It feels like the whole droid army is here!" Taps yelled as he unleashed further blaster fire into the slowly advancing mass of droids. Naruto glanced around as he looked at the many droids that were slowly entering the square, climbing over the scrap of their compatriots, opening fire immediately. Blaster bolts fell onto collapsible bulwarks, or were avoided entirely by his troops.

He fell into a crouch, ordering Taps,"Get everyone close, And give me a minute! I don't care how." His orders given he sank into the Force.

Naruto stopped telling the story here, trying to figure out how to express what he did on that mission. Taps took over without a missed beat.

"Boss did this weird stance, looked like he had to hit the can, but he was calm. I did as I was told though…"

Taps fired as fast as he could; his blaster bolts were extremely accurate, with two bolts slamming into each target with the force of a hammer, largely because he used a hand cannon instead of a standard pistol. As he fired, he barked commands to his fellow clones. "Secondary barricades boys! Hit some suppression damn it!"

The Mandolorians finally started to fight with them as soon as Naruto stopped moving around. Before they had only protected their circle; they now expanded, with their members aiming to hold the tide. As Taps factored that into his orders, he heard the medic that was tending to Sarge hiss at him to lay back down. Taps spared a glance back, and met Sarge's helmeted gaze.

Taps was one of the First Batch; trained extensively by the Prime's men, Taps was granted the rank of Captain immediately for his skills. Originally, he was assigned to a Jedi Master who died on Geonosis, along with his whole platoon. All because they refused to make sure the enemy was down, and the droids were more durable than most assumed. He remembered Sarge's words before he was shipped off, having denied the Resol'nare oath the first moment with his brothers. Sarge told him that part of the oath was protecting his brothers. That sentence pushed him to take the oath he lived his life by, an oath that his Boss respected to the utmost, an oath that helped him survive as long as he had.

Taps refused to desecrate the oath he took on that ship out vessel. Refused to allow his platoon to pass into the void; not if he had anything to do with it. As these thoughts raced through his head, looking at his old instructor's visor, his heartrate slowed, his body hummed and he moved. There was no thought, no deliberation. He shoved Sarge down, blaster firing even before Sarge's body was completely clear, destroying a Super Battle Droid with three shots even as he scooped Sarge's rifle up, twisted and opened fire back to the flank.

"Boys! We got Super Scrappies on the field! Repeat! Super Scrappies on the field! Give em hell!" Taps screamed as he fired the rifle rapidly, ignoring the recoil. His mind was full of angles, plans, and responses, even as he shot down dozens of droids. Mentally, he was keeping time as well, knowing that this was a race. A wild grin was on his face as he blasted, a grin he knew was mimicked on Sarge's and every other warrior's face that was currently blasting. Afterall, nearly all of them were Mando in some way, and that held a truth in it.

Every Mando loved a race against death. There was no higher high if you won, no higher honor than if you died.

Every Clone in the command center, which by this point was every non-essential operator, nodded at that point. They knew, but more importantly they understood. When the rounds went flying, when the shit was real, something within them always clicked. They just moved, they reacted, they fought. Some clones thought it was their training, others thought it was their will to live for themselves and each other. Either way, every clone understood what their Captain meant in that race against death. Someone always lost, but it always have to be you or yours. They all listened promptly as their captain continued his story.

"Boss! If you have some Jedi Shit, now would be the time!" Taps screamed as his hand cannon finally clicked empty, and he threw it at a scrappy before blasting it with the rifle in his off-hand, making it explode. It was then that all the droids were lifted up, and Taps looked behind him.

Naruto stood, tranquilly, his arms slowly rising. Without a single word, the spread fingers of his hands closed into fists. With a screech of protesting metal, every single droid within view was crushed into a ball. Blood started to flow from Naruto's nose, as he threw his arms down, flinging every ball of former droid metal down into walls around the clones. As the last former droid fell into place, Naruto hit his knees.

"Get us out of here Taps. There are no survivors on this planet."

Doc took up the story at that point. "We were allowed to retreat with ta Troopas. Boss even allowed Pops and the boys to rest up on ta ship. We ended up doing a bio-scan, and saw he was right. There was no bio-signatures that matched the natural inhabitants of ta planet. Luckily, they seemed ta get off the world, thanks to ta Boss and his crew of ships. While we was fighting the army, his other men were getting the survivors free. Honor said Pop's boys gotta repay the help. So, we made a contract. I work for him. Not the Republic. I work for Boss." Doc nodded to Naruto who smiled back before looking at Shep. Shep looked confused, as if he had never heard of a doctor working for the High Commander but not the Republic.

"Do you understand yet? This is Impact Company." Naruto's face became stone as he walked towards the Clone Commander. "You don't get to come here and demand my medic. Not after what we went through to get him." Naruto looked Shep in the eyes, his words like whips. "Not after I take those who lost too much, not after we have the highest completion rate of missions in the whole army. You will not take the person who patches my men up." The conversation at that point was over, and Shep merely nodded.


Deep on the ecumenopolis known as Courscant, the man that many knew as Sheev Palpatine sat in a chair that was possibly the most comfortable in the galaxy. Not for any ergonomic reason, but for the significance of the chair to the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. For it was here, six years ago, that he had killed his master. It was here, after the body was sent for incineration, a process he watched personally, he sat just as he did now.

Sheev shivered delightfully as the memory of the flashing blue lightning twisted over Plagueis' body. The thrilling sight of his master's skeleton erupting and snapping as he used the Dark Side to take his rightful place as the Dark Lord of the Sith. His nostrils flared as the memory of the scent of burnt, charred flesh made his limbs tighten. His eyes snapped opened, their glowing yellow pupils contracting in the light.

He basked in the Dark Side for a moment before catching slight of himself in the reflecting glass of the window. With a muttered curse, Shiv pulled his thoughts from his memories, watching as his eyes shifted from the dangerous yellow to his more comforting brown. He channeled the Force in a very precise manner, slowly shifting his face and posture from the craggy, intimidating form of his true ego of Sideous, into the more comforting and political form of Palpatine.

As soon as his disguise was set, he clicked a code into his personal datapad, that he then went through over a dozen different security checks before the application that he desired opened. With a flick of his hands his hood raised, and the lights of the room dimmed to leave him in pitch darkness. As the hologram snapped to life an alley way appeared in the background and leaning against the wall casually was a young man. He wore a leather jacket with a black fur collar that contrasted his blue Chiss skin perfectly. His pants had a tear over the left knee, and his hair, white as the purest of snow hung to his shoulders and obscured his left eye.

"Yes Master Sideous?" The man's voice was bored, yet still polite, raising from a deep bow as he tucked his hands into his pockets. Sheev did not miss the ring that was newly on his left hand even if he made no comment on it. So long as he was effective, his… habits, were permissible after all.

"How goes your training under my apprentice Malikai?"

"Wonderfully. Lord Tyranus is a harsh task master, however I have proven… a fanatical student." Malikai smiled softly as Sheev hummed.

"Good. Good. I have an assignment for you then." As Malikai cocked his head to listen, Sheev told him his new orders.

"Your will be done Master Sideous." Malikai spoke before the transmission ended. Sheev smiled sinisterly, before thinking on how the Jedi would react to the newest piece on the board.

Malikai frowned after the transmission cut out. His orders weren't difficult, especially for one of his training. However, it was demeaning to be ordered to do anything. He shrugged before tucking the little holopad into his pocket. He looked further into the alleyway he was in, and smiled at the floating Bothan that he casually made spin with a flick of his left ring finger.

"Sorry 'bout that. When he calls, I must pick up you see. Now, if I remember correctly, you were just telling me the information you discovered." As the Bothan snarled, at him, Malikai nodded.

"I see. It is tragic… I wanted to you tell me everything, however it seems I shall have to settle for the report on that data chip you have hidden." The Bothan paled, as the chip slowly removed itself from under his left foot, out of his boot and into Malikai's hand.

"How?" The Bothan asked, his voice hoarse and rough through the blood that was rushing to his head.

Malikai laughed, a sound of shattering ice. "I've been watching you for days furball. I saw you put it there this morning. I also saw you replace it after you got the information." Malikai's eyes hardened as he slipped the datachip into his pocket. "Sadly though, you know too much about too many skeletons in the Confederacy's closet. It was nice knowing you while you lasted furball. Goodbye."

Malikai squeezed his right hand shut, and watched as the Bothan's head twisted violently to the left until his neck snapped. Malikai then slammed the body down into the concrete so that it looked as if the Bothan jumped from the top of the building. It was a rare thing, but one that did occasionally happen in Bothan culture if they failed one to many times. This particular one had already failed multiple times before this, and this would have been his redeeming mission. If only he hadn't failed to disable the one camera that caught him, he wouldn't have reached this issue.

Malikai shook such thoughts from his head as he started to walk away. He glanced upwards, making note of the positions of the various Raxus' many stars. As he walked through the streets, even at the late hour, he saw dozens of people, most of which were happily smiling as they went through their evening routines.

It was not long before Malikai reached the Raxulon main port, where he was easily let in by various Separatist guards and droids. Within the hour, he was in his ship ready to depart. Within another thirty minutes, the ship was gone, headed on a course towards Tattooine.

The Bothan wasn't found until morning.


Yoda opened his eyes as the face of the Bothan that was found on Raxus mere days ago, flashed in his Force fed vision. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why the Bothan mattered; could not find the connection to the mysterious figure that was cutting down his jedi in the field.

Thus far, three knights and a padawan had lost their lives against whomever this Grievious was in combat that was, upon first glance, on equal grounds. Yet it seemed that every conflict had some method that moved the conflict into Grievious' favor. Yoda had settled down to meditate upon the issue, and ask the Force for guidance, yet the face of the Bothan was what the Force saw fit to show him.


Anakin frowned as Asoka flicked her saber up, the motion obviously torquing her wrist even if it was incredibly fast. "Again Snips." They were standing in the training hall of their flag ship; he with his arms crossed as he watched his padawan and her with shaking limbs and panting breath.

"Master, we've been at this for hours. Can I have a break please?" She pleaded even as she shifted her grip once more and sank into a ready stance. Anakin didn't answer, his mind on their most recent mission. A mission that ended in failure, as Grievous had escaped. A mission that saw him separated from Asoka and her nearly dying against General's Magna Guards as he fled. He never even engaged them personally.

His mind flashed to Asoka on the floor of some shuttle with half her body missing, and her eyes glossy just like Mother-

"ANAKIN!"

Asoka's scream of his name brought him back to reality. With a thud, all the equipment in the training room ceased it's hovering and slammed into the floor. His heart was beating rapidly as he looked around the room.

"Sorry Snips… I.. I lost myself there. I just…" he sighed as he settled onto the floor in a crossed leg position. He motioned for Asoka to join him, which she did in a slump. "Last mission, I nearly lost you. This war… it isn't a joke. Jedi have died in this conflict-"

"I am aware of that Master. I am. I understand why we are training, but… there are limits. What if we were called to a mission right now?" Asoka sighed at Anakin's confusion.

"Master, I am exhausted. I could sleep for a day, and probably still be exhausted. You are also tired. Look at yourself…the bags under your eyes are the same color as your armor." Her little quip made him smile.

"I agree. We need to rest…" He thought for a moment, and then smiled. "How would you like to see another Company?"As Asoka smiled and nodded he pulled a holopad to him from the counter with a swift pull of the Force, and rapidly typed in some information. "Oh? That is interesting…. I'll make the arrangements. We can do some joint training with him, and I can pick his mind on that… This will work."

Anakin stood up. "Go rest up Snips. I'll let you know when we can go. I just have to talk to Obi-wan and get some clearance. Shouldn't be hard."

As soon as she had cleared the room, he dialed his former Master on the Holocomms.

His master appeared with a soft smile, folded arms and a relaxed demeanor. "Anakin. How can I help you today?" Anakin watched as his face molded into concern as his appearance registered to him,"Have you slept recently lad?"

"Not really master. Last mission was… stressful and I am not handling it as well as I should. I have been training Asoka into the ground, and just a few moments ago… I sorta levitated the whole of the training room." Anakin sheepishly admitted as Obi-wan rubbed his nose hiding his smile.

"Reminds me of when I flipped that speeder after you let yourself get kidnapped by that slaver ring… " Obi-wan muttered and Anakin froze as that memory hit him.

He was only fourteen at that point and was Obi-wan's padawan for less than a year. He had allowed himself to get captured, knowing Obi-wan had a tracker on him somewhere. It had taken the Jedi less than three hours to find him, slaughter his way to the hanger that Anakin was about to shipped off-planet from, and upon learning that it was intentional, flipped the only operational ship in the room in a moment of unidentifiable emotion.

"Master, it wasn't a speeder, but a small cargo-"

"Anakin, don't. The point remains that it is likely that you are feeling the same thing I did at that moment. Asoka is a capable Jedi. You are afraid for her because you are attached to her. You know the Jedi's Code on Attachment Anakin." His master spoke the words even though his body language screamed another answer. "However, the bond between padawan and master is one of great intensity. You are reacting to an emotion you have previous little experience with."

Anakin nodded, knowing his master was correct in his response, even if it felt wrong. He should let his fear go through the Force. "Master, I want to request leave to see the 439th, specifically Impact-"

"Granted." Obi-wan interrupted. Anakin cocked his head in confusion. He hadn't even explained his reasons and he was granted the leave? That was unusual for his master. He voiced his concerns as he folded his arms.

"Knight Uzumaki would be a great influence on your padawan, and there are few companies that could keep you both safe if you were to actually rest during leave. Impact is one. Knight Uzumaki also has experience with you, and has had missions go… wrong."

Anakin winced, as he had read the report that indicated that death of the company medic, Needles. That whole mission was a pear-shaped nightmare to read, let alone live through.

"Naruto would be good for you to meet with, and spend some time with. He recently just finished a major mission. I will speak to Plo Koon and request time off for both of your companies. Your leave will be at least two weeks. I can't guarantee that time for your company however."

"Understood Master. Thank you." Anakin bowed to the man who always took care of him. Obi-wan sighed.

"Just get some sleep Anakin."


Kakashi rubbed his eye as he turned off the holocom and sat back in his chair. After the four hour long meeting with the other Kage, it was decided that Onoki of the Scales, the Third Tsuchikage would be the next Chair of the Shinobi Council. Yagura's term of 5 years was now over, and much needed to be done. Not only was there internal issues on Shin'o, but there seemed to be a war between a fractured Republic. At least from the first moments it seemed that way until you looked underneath the underneath.

The war was way too politically convenient, not nearly as damaging as it could be even after nearly a year of conflict, and its merely strengthening the political offices of the Republic powermongers. A proxy war, where only the real damage seemed to be the citizens that were caught in the crossfire. Crossfire that Kakashi noticed was always in the mid and outer rim worlds.

It was way he completely agreed with Onoki's decision to keep neutral in the conflict, even though the Raikage A wished for a more aggressive stance. He believed that if they helped the Republic win their war, they would treat them better and it would be a good negotiation tool. Yagura countered that it wouldn't matter; they already saw the Shinobi as a threat to their dominance, yet not enough to send their military units against them. It would be a terrible idea to change that dynamic, especially when they don't know why the war started, and how it would end.

The Kazekage, a young man named Gaara, was silent on the matter. He had sat with his eyes closed as he listened. It was Onoki who asked his opinion, in the most disrespectful manner. Gaara merely opened his eyes, looked at the eldest Kage, and stated that none of what we discussed mattered to Onoki; he had made his mind before, and is merely making a gesture to appear as if the Kages voices mattered. The reality was Onoki didn't want to risk Shinobi lives for a war that wasn't ours, for a Republic that at best would treat us as secondary Jedi, nor for a Confederacy that was merely chasing dreams that had no real basis. The Confederacy didn't have the man power to field off the Republic for more than a decade unless they allied with another Empire, which was stupid in itself. Thus, his opinion, which was similar to Onoki's would not make a difference. Gaara ended his opinion with a suggestion. Kakashi even remembered the exact shifting in the conversation from the suggestion.

"We should continue clandestine operations within the Republic. We should also prepare for the Republic's and the Jedi's fall."

The Shinobi in the room tensed, as they considered that option. Kakashi thought and then nodded. "Agreed. If intelligence is to be believed, the Jedi Order are being weakened politically by this war. The general populous has always felt that the Jedi had too much leeway, with no real oversight. I feel that we are in the twilight of the Order that we signed the Accords with."

A nodded, his white dreadlocks flicking the chair. "What of our Jedi Asset? Uzumaki is, by his own reports, a fairly well-known Jedi, and his promotion in the shinobi ranks should be discussed by the Council even if the final decision is yours Lord Hokage."

Yagura nodded, his stare blank. "According to Lord Jiraiya's final report, he estimated Uzumaki's abilities to be roughly Jonin class. That was before he has spent the last six months in active war. The majority of us know how strong war can make a Shinobi."

The Kage all shuddered as they thought of how strong war made jonin. The only Kage at that table who had not gone through war was the Kazekage, and while he was arguably the strongest shinobi in the room, he had undergone hellish training for it. Training that was much like war, in that it broke him multiple times and reforged him stronger than ever.

"I will be promoting him. He is most certainly Jonin class, is partaking an S-rank mission. It is only right." Kakashi ended the conversation, and the Kage meeting slowly ended.

Even now, Kakashi drafted the promotion letter to his Sensei's son. With a flick of a pen, he signed the document, turning it so that his Jonin Commander could sign as well. Shikaku Nara was a man with many talents, but his most important was his intellect. As he signed his name, he told his Kage.

"This will shake up the entirety of the treaty. The Jedi may view this as a power play from us. Uzumaki is a Jedi, and we are promoting him as a member of our military." His tone was light, as if he was discussing the weather. Kakashi grinned under his mask, a feral aggressive thing.

"Let them assume what they will. It won't matter. Naruto is a shinobi. It is as much of his identity as being a Jedi. Jiraiya ensured that for us. Promoting him is long overdue."

Shikaku nodded, before speaking again. "He will be the first to ever be promoted straight to Jonin outside of war. You know that right?"

Kakashi rolled the letter up, sealing it with a wax leaf. "We are always at war Shikaku. We just don't know what avenue this particular war is yet."


Naruto smiled as the guests for the next weeks walked slowly towards him. With open arms, he greeted his fellow Knight.

"Anakin! Welcome to Impact Company." Looking at the Padawan that strode three steps behind him, his smile turned soft. "Welcome young padawan. I hope your Master has been teaching you well." He clasps forearms with Anakin in a warriors greeting. As they separated, Commander Shep approached. His gait was stiff, and he bowed slightly towards the Jedi.

"High Commander, thank you for your hospitality. I will be telling General Pong your decision of course." Naruto nodded, his face a parody of sadness.

"Of course, Shep. I wouldn't expect anything else. However, if General Pong has…further questions, he knows my com address. I will make time to explain things thoroughly." With a salute, the commander and his escorts entered the shuttle.

As the shuttle exited his ship, Naruto turned to his guests who were talking with Taps along with Anakin's Captain Rex.

"I am certain we can arrange some join ops training. Boss is flexible like that." Taps said as he leaned against a cargo crate.

Rex nodded, his eyes glancing towards his two Jedi. "I think picking your brain would be good."

Taps grinned, bearing his teeth,"I'was thinkin the same."

Ahsoka turned to Anakin as she listened to the two clones. "Master, why does Captain Taps call Knight Uzumaki Boss? I haven't ever heard a clone do that, even to Master Kenobi."

Taps glanced towards her, having heard the question. "Boss is called Boss because he is more than just our commander. He is the Taicho as his language says. The leader is responsible for all aspects of his men, no matter if its on the battlefield or not. Especially in war." Taps turned slightly, and whistled harshly. "Impact! Rules two and three!"

With a shift, every clone that was part of Impact Company straightened, abandoning what they were doing for a moment as they recited Rules Two and Three. "Impact is a Team Act Like it! We Never Leave Someone Behind!"

Ahsoka's eyes were wide, and a smile was on her face. Anakin was smiling as well, and Naruto held a smirk knowing what they were feeling. Whenever Taps showed off the rules that he and Naruto had come up with and drilled into the company, and he felt the Clones through the Force, he felt their devotion, their pride and most importantly, their love for one another. It was as if he was in a nexus of joy as they recited the Rules, as each person thought of the reason they viewed Impact as a team.

Rex grunted, slightly impressed by the discipline. "What are the Rules anyway?"

Naruto answered easily, counting the five rules on his fingers. "Rule one, Always Double Tap. Rule two, Impact is a Team, Act Like it. Rule Three, We Never Leave Someone Behind. Rule four, A Brain is the Most Dangerous Weapon. Rule Five, Don't Piss Off The Specialist." Naruto grinned, "We added that one for Doc. He can be scary if you don't do your medical leave."

The Jedi all laughed as they strode deeper into the ship, joined by their clone captains.